California Appellate Resources
California Appeals Before the Courts of Appeal
Appeals within Court of Appeal jurisdiction from any California superior court proceed to one of six appellate districts. Every district applies the same California Rules of Court, and every district also has its own local rules, forms, electronic-filing practices, and internal operating procedures.
Appeals From California Superior Courts
California Superior Courts
58 county courts · notice of appeal · record
Superior Court Appellate Divisions
Limited civil · misdemeanor · infraction
The Six Districts
- First Appellate District, San Francisco — five divisions serving twelve Northern California counties.
- Second Appellate District, Los Angeles and Ventura — eight divisions serving Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties.
- Third Appellate District, Sacramento — a single division serving twenty-three counties in the Sacramento Valley, the Sierra, and the far north.
- Fourth Appellate District — three divisions in San Diego, Riverside, and Santa Ana serving San Diego, Imperial, Riverside, San Bernardino, Inyo, and Orange Counties.
- Fifth Appellate District, Fresno — a single division serving nine San Joaquin Valley counties.
- Sixth Appellate District, San Jose — a single division serving Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito Counties.
- First Appellate DistrictCalifornia Court of Appeal, First Appellate District appellate.courts.ca.gov
- Second Appellate DistrictCalifornia Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District appellate.courts.ca.gov
- Third Appellate DistrictCalifornia Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District appellate.courts.ca.gov
- Fourth Appellate DistrictCalifornia Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District appellate.courts.ca.gov
- Fifth Appellate DistrictCalifornia Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District appellate.courts.ca.gov
- Sixth Appellate DistrictCalifornia Court of Appeal, Sixth Appellate District appellate.courts.ca.gov
Statewide Rules and Electronic Filing
Title 8 of the California Rules of Court governs briefing, the record, motions, oral argument, and decision in every district. Electronic filing through TrueFiling is mandatory for represented parties in all six districts and in the Supreme Court, with exceptions for self-represented parties, who may elect to e-file but are not required to.
Each district also publishes formatting requirements for electronically filed documents — text-searchable PDFs, pagination, bookmarks, file-size limits — and those requirements are not identical from district to district.
District Local Rules and Practices
The local rules are where the districts differ. Depending on the district they address record designation, appendices, extensions of time, proposed orders, settlement and mediation programs, oral argument procedures, and the circulation of tentative opinions before argument. Each district publishes its local rules, standing orders, and practices on its own pages of the Courts of Appeal website.
- First Appellate District — Local Rules and OrdersCalifornia Court of Appeal, First Appellate District appellate.courts.ca.gov
- Second Appellate District — Local Rules and OrdersCalifornia Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District appellate.courts.ca.gov
- Third Appellate District — Local Rules and OrdersCalifornia Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District appellate.courts.ca.gov
- Fourth Appellate District — Rules, Forms and FilingCalifornia Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District appellate.courts.ca.gov
- Fifth Appellate District — Rules, Forms and FilingCalifornia Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District appellate.courts.ca.gov
- Sixth Appellate District — Local Rules and OrdersCalifornia Court of Appeal, Sixth Appellate District appellate.courts.ca.gov
Division Assignment
In the First District, appeals are distributed among the five San Francisco divisions. In the Second District, the county of trial determines whether the case is heard in Los Angeles or in Ventura. In the Fourth District, the county of trial determines the division: San Diego and Imperial to Division One, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Inyo to Division Two, and Orange to Division Three. The Third, Fifth, and Sixth Districts each sit as a single division.
Writ Proceedings
Each district exercises original writ jurisdiction over the superior courts in its counties. Writ petitions follow procedures distinct from ordinary appeals and can involve separate record, urgency, and temporary-relief requirements that the districts address in their own practices.
Further Review
A Court of Appeal decision may be followed by a petition for rehearing in the district and a petition for review in the Supreme Court of California, which grants review in a small fraction of cases.
Official Resources
- California Courts of AppealCalifornia Courts of Appeal appellate.courts.ca.gov
- California Courts of Appeal — District MapCalifornia Courts of Appeal appellate.courts.ca.gov
- California Rules of Court — Appellate RulesJudicial Council of California courts.ca.gov
- California Courts Self-Help — AppealsJudicial Council of California selfhelp.courts.ca.gov
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